Lào Cai in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Lào Cai sees average daytime highs around 27°C and overnight lows near 18°C, with 454 mm of rain over about 56 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 22°C in early March to 30°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels muggy.

Spring is Lào Cai's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Lào Cai's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 27°C; 2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low: 18°C
Rainfall: 454 mm; 56 wet days
Avg wind: 4 km/h
Travel score: 4.9; 3rd-best season
Months: Mar · Apr · May

← Winter Lào Cai year-round climate Summer →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Lào Cai in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 22°C in early March to 30°C by late May.

A typical spring day in Lào Cai reaches about 27°C and drops to 18°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

How spring really feels in Lào Cai

Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 9 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in spring is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Lào Cai weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	18° / 11°	96	18.1	10.8	4.7
Feb	20° / 12°	87	17	11.2	5.0
Mar	24° / 15°	126	19	11.8	5.5
Apr	27° / 19°	129	17.6	12.5	5.2
May	29° / 22°	200	19.7	13.1	4.1
Jun	30° / 24°	242	22	13.4	3.3
Jul	30° / 24°	261	23.2	13.2	3.4
Aug	30° / 23°	268	22.4	12.8	3.6
Sep	28° / 22°	165	18.2	12.1	4.6
Oct	26° / 19°	118	16.6	11.5	5.7
Nov	23° / 15°	88	13.8	10.9	6.1
Dec	19° / 12°	92	14.1	10.6	5.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time across spring.

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Lào Cai gets around 454 mm of rain over 56 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of spring feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

Wind in Spring

Winds average 4 km/h across spring.

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 30 min in early March to 13 h 18 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.7 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Lào Cai

In seasonPeak

In spring, Lào Cai overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lào Cai's rainy season runs March–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is spring a good time to visit Lào Cai?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

4.9

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

5.1

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Lào Cai for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lào Cai in Spring

From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In spring, Lào Cai sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 18°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 56 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Lào Cai in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lào Cai peaks around June 21 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	6	8	11	8	10	14	13	12	10	8	7	5
Level	High	Very high	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	6	High
Feb	8	Very high
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	8	Very high
May	10	Very high
Jun	14	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	8	Very high
Nov	7	High
Dec	5	High

Air quality in Lào Cai in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Lào Cai is worst in March — around 49 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.8× the cleanest month (July, 17 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	36	40	49	48	30	19	17	18	23	28	33	36
Level	Poor	Poor	Poor	Poor	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Poor

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	36	Poor
Feb	40	Poor
Mar	49	Poor
Apr	48	Poor
May	30	Moderate
Jun	19	Moderate
Jul	17	Moderate
Aug	18	Moderate
Sep	23	Moderate
Oct	28	Moderate
Nov	33	Moderate
Dec	36	Poor

Location & terrain

Where is Lào Cai?

Lào Cai sits at 22.5°N, 104.0°E, 86 m above sea level, in Vietnam. The nearest listed city is Sapa, 21 km away.

Topography around Lào Cai

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Lào Cai.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lào Cai has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 298 m around an average of 141 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,148 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,050 m.

The land around Lào Cai is covered by trees (65%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 3 km, trees (90%) within 16 km, and trees (85%) within 80 km.

3 km

298 m

trees 65%

16 km

2,148 m

trees 90%

80 km

3,050 m

trees 85%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← Winter Lào Cai year-round climate Summer →

Spring weather nearby: Sapa 21 km · Thị Trấn Phố Lu 29 km · Lai Châu 54 km · Thị Trấn Việt Quang 86 km · Bắc Quang 92 km · Mường Lay 102 km · Ít Ong 108 km · Hà Giang 111 km

Vietnam travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type A / B / C / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 29% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,066; 2025
Happiness: 6.4 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 59%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2011
Road deaths: 30.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 500
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Lào Cai (22.4856°, 103.9707°, elevation 86 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.